The Los Angeles Lakers dropped to their fourth straight loss on Sunday, bowing out to LeBron James and the surging Cleveland Cavaliers, 120-105, at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Lakers stayed true to their tanking goal - no matter how hard head coach Byron Scott tried to reject the notion - after they lost a game in another crushing blowout.
James flirted with a triple double, racking up 22 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists in efficient 30 minutes of playing time. Kyrie Irving (28 points and 10 assists) and Kevin Love (32 points and 10 rebounds), the other members of LeBron's new Super-friends, also putted up double-double numbers for the Cavaliers, who now won 13 of their last 14 games.
Rookie Jordan Clarkson continued to capitalize on ample playing time he's receiving from Scott since Kobe Bryant went down with a season-ending shoulder injury. The point guard out of Missouri recorded a new career-high 20 points on 6-for-14 shooting along with six rebounds, four assists and three steals in 27 minutes.
Coming off back-to-back overtime losses at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks and the Orlando Magic, the Lakers had decent first quarter run to put them within striking distance, down by four 32-28. However, the Cavaliers started to unleash their fearsome offensive firepower, outscoring the Lakers 32-21 in the second quarter.
With a 15-point lead at half-time, Cleveland made sure no late-game collapse would prevent them from bagging an easy win at home, where they are 20-9 all season long.
Timofey Mozgov showed why he's the most important trade acquisition the Cavs made so far, as he tallied 8 points and 10 rebounds and served as the anchor of the team's interior defense. Cleveland stifled the Lakers to just 41 percent shooting from the field and 30 percent from the three-point line.
Jeremy Lin saw limited action in the game, but still finished with 11 points on 5-for-9 shooting and three assists in 21 minutes for the Lakers, who concluded their four-game road trip without win.
